The time has finally come for Tesla’s Australian and New Zealand customers.
Tesla has rolled out ‘Full Self Driving (supervised)’, the hands-off technology that allows a compatible Tesla vehicle to drive from door-to-door without driver intervention.
While the technology has been available in left-hand drive markets for some time, Tesla has been working on training the semi-autonomous Level 2 driver aid for right-hand drive markets.
It’s not quite as simple as reversing the entire left-hand drive training model, so it required extensive development work.
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That included programming it to handle hook turns (a Melbourne specialty), as well as unique Australian road signs, school zones and carparks, all of which required new data models.
Tesla has been working on this in Australia and New Zealand for some time now with the brand now ready to deploy the technology to compatible vehicles.
The rollout will commence initially with Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with hardware four (HW4) cameras. The first recipients will be customers that have already paid the eye-watering $10,100 cost software cost.
Following those customers, Tesla will make the technology available to anybody with a Model 3 or Model Y with HW4 and finally it will be rolled out to the balance of Tesla customers with compatible hardware.
That eye-watering cost will also become a bit more palatable. New customers will get a 30-day trial of ‘Full Self Driving (supervised)’ before being able to commit to the full purchase price or a monthly subscription, the cost of which is still to be confirmed.
One massive catch that may dissuade buyers will be that the package can’t be transferred to another vehicle. So, for example, if you stump up the $10,100 cost and then sell your Tesla, it can’t come with you to your next Tesla.
While Tesla is currently running a promotion that allows you to move the technology with your purchase, there’s no guarantee the promotion will continue in the future – it’s currently set to expire on September 30.
During a press conference in Brisbane, Tesla went out of their way to reiterate that ‘Full Self Driving (supervised)’, despite its name, isn’t autonomous driving technology. Instead, it’s a level 2 driver assistance system that requires full driver control and supervision at all times.
There are a litany of safety warnings and agreements you need to accept on screen before the vehicle will enter this driving mode.
Tesla has been subject to a number of lawsuits in the US regarding its autonomous driving technology, including one recently where a judge found Tesla was liable for 33 per cent of fault for a crash that killed a driver that claimed to be operating his vehicle on Autopilot.
Tesla is appealing the A$373 million (US$243m) verdict, claiming the driver didn’t have Autopilot running and that no vehicle would have been able to prevent the crash regardless of the technology it was operating.